Kapor Center

Mission and Philosophy

The Kapor (pronounced KAY-por) Center for Social Impact aims to make the technology ecosystem and entrepreneurship more diverse and inclusive. We are particularly interested in positive social impacts for communities that have historically been on the periphery of access to opportunity, participation and influence in the United States.

We believe that when the community of tech leaders reflects the diversity of the United States, tech will play an integral role in closing gaps and disparities that exist in this country. Via proven and experimental methods from the for-profit and nonprofit fields, we work in partnership with a diverse set of stakeholders to maximize social impact.

We work to:

01

Advance the body of knowledge about the leaky pipeline by conducting, disseminating and evangelizing action oriented research that leads to more effective, evidence-based solutions.

02

Address the pipeline problem by fixing all of the leaks along the pipeline for underrepresented populations, with an emphasis on African Americans and Latina/os.

03

Be a catalyst for others in the tech world to match or exceed (in time, attention or money in proportion to their resources), so that a decade from now tech will look more like America.

04

Align strategies and efforts between three organizations – the Kapor Center, Level Playing Field Institute and Kapor Capital – to provide a comprehensive approach to expanding tech inclusion.

Our priority activities include:

Increasing diverse tech entrepreneurship.

Increasing access to capital.

Increasing access to tech and STEM education.

Building strong community and community institutions to promote a more diverse tech ecosystem in the Bay Area, with a special focus on Oakland, our home.

Leveraging our Oakland HQ as a gathering place for learning and leadership opportunities that help build/expand the startup ecosystem of gap-closing companies, especially in Oakland.